The Gamer who traveled to Honkai: Star Rail

As for Ruan Mei's research plans, Pei Guang had zero interest. Now that he had a powerful ally to help with the mission, he felt like this task was practically a guaranteed win.

He was ready to act. But just before he moved, Pei Guang suddenly remembered something and looked at Ruan Mei.

"Oh right! You still haven't said what the reward for this mission is. Dealing with a beautiful woman like you: I've gotta be extra careful."

Ruan Mei replied, "A reward? As payment for completing this mission, I can give you anything you want~"

Pei Guang: "Really?"

Ruan Mei: "Really~ Whatever~ You~ Want~"

A smile appeared on her face. Her looks paired with that smile were absolutely lethal. With her carefully chosen outfit and jewelry, most people would fall head over heels under her charm.

But Pei Guang wasn't interested in her beauty: he was skeptical of the reward. "Anything? That just sounds like a scam. Whatever I want? I'm betting you can't actually pull that off."

Ruan Mei: "I can~"

Pei Guang: "You said it. To avoid you ghosting me later, I'm going to say my request upfront."

Pei Guang wanted to test her limits. After all, in most games, when someone says "anything you want," it's usually a trap. After a bunch of trouble, you might end up with a steamed bun—and that bun might not even come from the quest-giver, but from some pitying passerby!

Ruan Mei: "Go ahead! But just to be clear, you can't suddenly ask for more things later."

Pei Guang took a deep breath. To be honest, he did have a specific reward he really wanted. So, with absolute sincerity, he made his wish:

"I wish for universal peace. I want all civilizations to grow and prosper together. No one should go hungry from lack of food, no one should be bullied, and no civilization should ever face total destruction. I want the entire universe to truly achieve peace and prosperity!"

That sentence rendered Ruan Mei completely speechless.

She had imagined all kinds of possibilities, even considering Pei Guang's behavior and personality. She thought he might ask for a top-tier item or request to do something... specific and sweaty with her. 

But she never imagined this!

Ruan Mei thought about it. Even the lowest part of that wish was beyond her capabilities… Forget her: even an Aeon couldn't achieve that!

Ruan Mei: "I can't fulfill your request. Please ask for something within my power."

Pei Guang: "Tch. That's too bad. I was hoping you could help me jailbreak and speedrun the game. Oh well—if you can't even grant that, you definitely can't do anything else I have in mind. Just owe me one for now! I'll come collect when I need it."

Ruan Mei: "Alright. If you ever need something I can still help with, you're always welcome to come find me."

Pei Guang: "Yay~ Off I go to do the mission then~ Cleaning up your mess, right! Mission start! Bucket! Let's head out!"

Ruan Mei: "I wish you both success. I'll be waiting for you at the platform. Come find me there when you're done. Oh, right..."

Ruan Mei pulled Pei Guang's hand to verify his identity data. While holding his hand, she playfully gave it a squeeze: "I've registered your identity. You won't run into any access restrictions on your way there. Good luck~ darling~"

Pei Guang: "Tsk! You really know how to flirt, huh! But with behavior like that, it just makes me think there's something shady in this mission of yours. I may not know exactly what my bucket can do, but the fact it was born this way tells me there's something fishy going on. You're not gonna explain? If you don't, and I find out you tricked me after the mission's done, my impression of you's gonna plummet."

Ruan Mei: "I used data from your last Simulated Universe run to create a Propagation Emanator."

Pei Guang: "Oh, just a Propagation Emanator… huh? What?! A Propagation Emanator?!"

Pei Guang suddenly felt his mind buzz. He tried to recall: "Which Emanator? Was it the Broodmother, the Queen Bug, or…"

Ruan Mei: "The Starcrusher Swarm King. It's just a clone, not nearly as strong as the actual Emanator. It's about to emerge from the incubator, and once it does, it can survive for 56 seconds. After that, it'll dissipate. My goal was to collect combat data from your fight with it. But now, that data's no longer that important..."

She glanced at the bucket. Its very existence already proved so much. Compared to raw combat data, she found Pei Guang himself far more interesting now.

Pei Guang stroked his chin: "I see... but why do I get the feeling this mission is going to go sideways?"

Ruan Mei: "Impossible. There's no force strong enough to prolong its life beyond that time..."

Seeing how confident she looked, Pei Guang started ranting: "There it is! That classic NPC overconfidence in every quest! I'm telling you, I've been screwed over by Allied Intelligence agents before! I won't fall for it again! 

Still, not a big deal. Since we managed to synthesize this big guy, he's definitely going to play a major role in this mission."

Ruan Mei: "The trust you wanted: I've already given it to you. Whether you believe it or not is up to you."

Pei Guang pondered, stroking his chin: "I believe you! But belief is one thing, and how the plot develops is another. The devs never want players to just coast through story arcs." 

Aha agreed with this sentiment.

From Pei Guang's perspective, most games wouldn't give players missions they couldn't complete. Even in large-scale set piece missions, NPCs were often there to help out. 

He saw the bucket as just such a support unit.

Still, he had a hunch this mission wasn't going to be simple. They'd even given him a character with enhanced defense and shielding for allies and structures inside the space station, which likely meant the enemies would pose a real threat to its integrity.

As for why Ruan Mei was doing all this on a space station, Pei Guang couldn't be bothered to ask. There'd always be a reason, whatever she said. What mattered now was finishing the mission and making sure Herta's station didn't go up in flames.

At that moment, the bucket sensed Pei Guang's thoughts and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. He didn't say anything, but from the moment their eyes met, Pei Guang could feel what the bucket was thinking.

It was encouragement—recognition. 

Feeling the bucket's unwavering belief, Pei Guang's gamer spirit ignited: "You're right! Let's put everything on the line: our friendship, our bond, our beliefs! We'll protect this space station! That's right! All in the name of preservation!"

Watching the interaction between Pei Guang and the bucket, Ruan Mei looked stunned. Sure, some organisms communicated in special ways, but the bucket hadn't even spoken, and yet Pei Guang was reacting as if it had said a ton?

While Ruan Mei was still puzzled, Pei Guang and the bucket had already set off. Pei Guang drew his weapon and strode forward confidently.

The bucket followed calmly with arms crossed. It could sense that some of the trash inside the station was getting restless: looking to sabotage this space-station-branded trash can.

As a proper trash can, it could tolerate insects, countless kinds of waste, even people who thought of themselves as human trash. 

But it could never tolerate trash going rogue!

Allowing trash to destroy the trash can and escape its confines: that would be a desecration of its dignity. A trash can's resources must never be trampled upon.